Being mean to our dogs is time consuming

A saw a TV clip about a dog who was a counter surfer.
The trainer set up some really fancy video equipment so they could monitor the dog from another room. Then the trainer put a special collar on the dog that allowed her to speak into the collar so that she could be heard remotely. The pet parents put a sandwich on the edge of the counter, then they waited for the dog to mess up then scolded the dog through the collar.

I wondered how many hours and how much money was spent. Now compare that with either putting the sandwich in the fridge when done or even just pushing the sandwich further back on the counter out of reach.

Most pet parents don’t go through that much trouble. But sadly, some people are actually advised to follow their dog around with a spray bottle in case the pup chews on wires or grabs something unauthorized. When you get home after a long, stressful 10 hour day, do you really want to follow your pup around with a spray bottle? Or would you rather make dinner or relax in front of the TV because the wires have been moved out of reach or blocked from access.
You can spend 10 minutes blocking access or spend days following your pup around with a spray bottle.

Or what if instead of following your pup around waiting for the right time to spritz her, how about playing fetch instead? The pup gets exercise, you are nice instead of mean and the wires remain untouched. No extra time expended.

So much of the old style training is about waiting for our dogs to mess up then punishing for things they didn’t even know was wrong. What’s even worse is we even set the dog up by putting things out for the dog grab. Dogs are natural scavengers. It’s in the their nature to take food that is laying around.

Some people think that spritzing a dog is okay because it doesn’t “hurt” the dog. If spritzing is not unpleasant, then how does it work? The dog doesn’t leave the wires or the counter food alone because the spray feels good.

Have you been spritzing your dog for infractions? Write to Puddin about it (in the comments section below or email us at education@stubbypuddin.com). We might have some alternatives for you.